Improvement in padlocks



dilated tant l DANIEL SNELL, OF LITTLE FALLS, NEWl YORK.

Letters Pate/at No. 101,391, dated March 29, 1870.

IMPROVEIVIENT IN PADLOCKS.

The Schedule referre'to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same To all whom it may coceo-'n Be it known that I, DANIEL SNELL, of Little Falls, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hasp or Padlocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact'description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings making a part of this specification, in whichp Figure 1 represents a view of theint-erior of the lock, as the parts appear when it is unlocked, and the hasp thrown back or open.

Figure 2 represents a View of the interior of the lock, as the parts appear when the lockis locked. In

both of the gures the face-plate of the lock is represented as removed to show the interior.

Figure 3 represents a front, and

Figure 4 a rear view of the face-plate of the lock, the latter figure showing the fuse or key-guard surrounding the key-hole, and attached to the inside of said face-plate.

Similar letters of reference, where they occur in the separate figures, denote like parts ofthe lookin all of the drawi gs.

This lock has but a single piece in its interior, and that piece constitutes the bolt and the spring for throwing out the hasp, when the lock is unlocked.

The invention, however, consists in the several del tails of the lock, independent of its single inside piece, and which give it additional security and practicability, as will be hereafter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

A represents the box portion of the lock, to which the hasp B is hinged at 'the point a.

At b a recess is formed, which is partially guarded by a projection, 1, and at the upper part of said recess there is a shoulder, 2, against and past which the point of the spring-bolt c moves when actuated by the key O, or by the hasp B, as will be more fully explained hereafter.

Thefree end of the hasp is furnished with a nick or notch, 3, and close to it a shoulder, 4. It has also a shoulder at 5, that tightly closes or snugly fits around `the opening into which the point ofsaid hasp enters when it is to be locked, and defines the distance that it shall enter therein,

The bolt c is a single piece of spring metal, the heel end of which is fastened to the boxat d; thence it bends downward, 'as at e, and thence upward and forward to' the opening into which the point of the hasp. enters the lock-case, and with which it interlock's, and from which it is forced by the key when the hasp is to be released or opened.

A portion of the spring-bolt c, as at f, is cut away,

Vso that any instrument which could be introducedinto the key-hole, and reach said spring-bolt, would at such point iind not-hing for the instrument to catch or hold against, and so prevent the lock from being picked.V

The key-stud g is set in the lock-case in the usual way.

When the lock is unlocked by the key, the key-bit h is tnmed until it strikes against the piece c, at or about the point vi; then, by continuing to turn the key, this piece c moves away from its notch or recess in the4 hasp, and until it passes the shoulder 2 on the case; thence it becomes a spring, and, by reacting and striking against the shoulder 4 of the hasp, throws the latter out of the lock.

To protect' the piece c against any instrument introduced through the key-hole j, said key-hole is almost entirely surrounded and guarded upon the interior face of the plate D, there being simply room enough for' the very thin key-bit h to enter.

This key-hole shield or fuse o is seen in ig.4, and has-a portion, as at k, cut away to allow the key-slot m to move over, and a shoulder at fn, against which the key brings up when the piece c is. moved far enough to release its point from the vhasp-catch, and prevent it from being moved any further than is necessary to so release it.

As before stated, any instrument that could be iuserted into the lock through the very small nnguarded portion of the key-hole would only reach the cut-away portion or space at j, and there find nothing to press against or fasten to.

When the point of the spring c is in the position shown in fig. 1, that is, when the lock is unlocked, and it is desired to close or lock it, the hasp is pressed down and inward, its shoulder 4 taking against the point-of said spring, and carrying it down past the shoulder 2; there the recoil or reaction' of the spring shoots it into the recess b, and its end takes into the nick, notch, or recess' 3 in the hasp, and sol locks it there. l

In unlocking with the key the spring-bolt is moved back until its point passes the shoulder 2; it then reacts, and, being still under the shoulder 4 of the hasp, but out' of the notch 3, the hasp is thrown out of the lock.

The elasticity or springy n ature of the piece c makes it a spring-bolt and a spring hasp-ejector; and though this spring piece c is only shown and described as applied to a hasp or padlock, it may be applied toA other locks, using a bolt and key.

Having thus fully described my invention, I WVhat I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with a lock, the sprngpiece c, l

4. In `combination with the face-plate and key-hole therein, the fuse or guard around said key-hole ou the inside of said face-plate, when said fuse is notched and elongated at one side of the key-opening, as and for the purpose described.

DANIEL SNELL.

Witnesses A. H, GREENE, F. H. BURNHAM. 

